1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink jet recording method wherein both a reaction solution and an ink composition are deposited onto a recording medium, and also relates to the reaction solution used in the ink jet recording method.
2. Background Art
An ink jet recording method is a printing method wherein droplets of an ink composition are ejected and deposited onto a recording medium such as paper. This method has a feature that an image having a high resolution and a high quality can be realized at a high speed with a relatively inexpensive apparatus. In general, the ink composition used in the ink jet recording method comprises water as a main component and, added thereto, a colorant and a wetting agent such as glycerin added for prevention of clogging and other purposes.
On the other hand, a new ink jet recording method has been recently proposed. The new method comprises applying a polyvalent metal salt solution onto a recording medium and then applying an ink composition containing a dye having at least one carboxyl group (e.g., Japanese Patent Laid-Open No 202328/1993). According to this method, polyvalent metal ions combine with the dye to form an insoluble composite which can provide an image having water resistances and a high quality free from color bleeding.
Further, an ink jet recording method has been proposed wherein a color ink containing at least a surfactant or a penetrable solvent and a salt for imparting a penetrating property is used in combination with a black ink which cooperates with the salt to cause thickening or coagulation, thereby providing a high-quality color image having a high image density and free from color bleeding (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 106735/1994). More specifically, in this method, two liquids, i.e., a first liquid containing a salt and a second liquid of an ink composition, are printed to provide a good image.
Furthermore, other ink jet recording methods wherein two liquids are printed have been proposed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 240557/1991 and No. 240558/1991.